NAACP Rejects Rupert Murdoch and the NY Post's Weak Ass Apology

NAACP Rejects Rupert Murdoch and the NY Post's Weak Ass Apology

STATEMENT OF NAACP PRESIDENT AND CEO BENJAMIN TODD JEALOUS ON PUBLIC APOLOGY FROM NEWS CORPORATION EXECUTIVE K. RUPERT MURDOCH

We welcome Rupert Murdoch's statement that the New York Post will endeavor to be more sensitive to the communities it serves, but unfortunately his apology
fails to answer how the Post will do so.

Mr. Murdoch could resolve this unfortunate situation in 15 minutes by meeting to develop substantive measures to ensure that this type of incendiary incident
does not happen again.

Mr. Murdoch's apology comes only after almost a week of tens of thousands of expressions of outrage and disgust from people across the country. The
offenders are still on staff and there are no measures being taken to increase diversity in its newsroom. The apology from Mr. Murdoch is sadly too little, too
late and we call on Mr. Murdoch to take the steps needed to assure that the New York Post can practice more responsible journalism and truly be sensitive to
its community, in the future.

The New York Post and Fox News have a history of racially insensitive reporting. With the support of the editor in chief, the cartoonist Sean Delonas has
published numerous vile cartoons tinged with racism. Fox News was widely criticized during the elections for calling Michelle Obama "Obama's baby
mama" and terming the affectionate and common fist bump between then-candidate Obama and his wife, a "terrorist fist jab" at a time when death
threats against the candidate were at an all time high for any presidential candidate.

The New York Post stands alone from most daily newspapers in refusing to report its diversity numbers to the American Society of Newspaper Editors. One has to
wonder how many Hispanic or African American reporters and editors are working at the New York Post? Clearly, with more diversity in its newsrooms, it's
likely the paper would have been able to understand the deeply offensive nature of the cartoon. Our guess is that the numbers are abysmally low for a newspaper
serving a city with a population as diverse as New York.

It is hard not to interpret the cartoon, which was juxtaposed to a photo of President Obama, as an encouraging sign to those who would assassinate our 44th
president because of the color of his skin. The depiction of two police officers shooting down the primate is deeply troubling to communities who struggle
daily with suspicious police killings. The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) has also condemned the cartoon calling it
"despicable, insensitive and easily interpreted as racist." Good police officers all around the country should be dismayed by this slur on their
character. African Americans have historically been compared to primates as a way to dehumanize the entire group. We were called monkeys while we were being
brutally lynched and denied equal civil and human rights. In fact, a 2008 study published by the American Psychological Association found that an association
between primates and African Americans still exists among many white Americans.

We hope that Mr. Murdoch will make good on his apology and agree to make the needed changes in the newsroom and its policies.
Founded in 1909, the NAACP--the nation's oldest, largest and most widely-recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization-is celebrating its 100th
anniversary this year. Its more than half-million members and supporters throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights
in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private